Product Description

After graduating from finishing school, Keri Langston can't wait to return home to her uncle. But when she returns, she discovers that the ranch she was supposed to inherit was lost in a card game to Brooks Morgan! Will they tear the property apart out of selfish greed---or learn to work together?

Publisher's Description

End of the Trail is part of a six-book series about four generations of the Morgan family living, fighting, and thriving amidst a turbulent Texas history spanning from 1845 to 1896.

Brooks Morgan left home 11 years earlier and is just too stubborn to return home. In 1896 he pulls into the town of Shoofly to take refuge from a storm and befriends John Langston in the local cafe. A high stakes poker game ends with Brooks holding the deed to John's ranch with one condition - Brooks must promise to take care of Keri. Brooks agrees, assuming that Keri is a horse.

Overcome by guilt, Brooks return to the cafe to give back the deed but finds John on the floor dead. Brooks heads off to take care of John's ranch and is ambushed. With a noose around his neck, hands tied behind his back he offers a prayer up to God. A stunning shot is delivered from the rifle of a lady on horseback that breaks the noose and frees Brooks. But could this lady - Keri - be an enemy, too?

Author Bio

VICKIE MCDONOUGH is the author of over twenty books including the Texas Boardinghouse Brides series. Vickie's books have won the Inspirational Reader's Choice Contest, Texas Gold, and the ACFW Noble Theme contest. Vickie lives in Oklahoma and is a wife of 35 years. She has 4 grown sons and one granddaughter. Visit Vickie's website: www.vickiemcdonough.com.

Editorial Reviews

"What a truly wonderful book! Brooks Morgan is the ultimate slightly-flawed hero with a cocky grin that's bound to make any female reader fall in love. After a decade of drifting and learning life's lessons the hard way, Brooks wins a ranch in a poker game. Trouble is, feisty Keri Langston thinks Raven Creek Ranch belongs to her. If she'd known Brooks Morgan held the deed to her property, she might have left him hanging on the end of the rope she found him on, instead of shooting him free and saving his sorry life.But she didn't know. She did shoot him free. And now he's a way-too-happy, far-too-handsome thorn in her side.The End of the Trail is a hilarious, heart-rending, soul-searching rollercoaster ride. I loved it, and didn't want the ride to end. But then, I always love McDonough's work. This author presents stellar writing; wonderful, unexpected humorous moments; touching, heart-wrenching situations that make it hard to know who to root for; and consistently riveting storylines.I dare you to read this book and not smile! Thing is, you will smile...and get a little weepy...and gasp in surprise a few times, as well. End of the Trail really is that good." -- Review by Vickie McDonough

"Because the Morgan Family Series has several authors, there is a great deal of difference in the quality of the various reads even though characters remain consistent. In End of the Trail writer Vickie McDonough does a better than average job of producing a work that is readable, entertaining, and consistent with the feel of the series as a whole. Her research is woven naturally into the plot and character details without the excessive insertion of archaic terms or extraneous facts that seem to plague other historical novels.

I would recommend End of the Trail to anyone looking for a light summer read. It's a good book to take on vacation or trip to the beach and has the rare quality of incorporating Christian culture and views without giving the impression they were tacked on to please the publisher." -- Review by Elizabeth Baker, www.ElizabethBakerBooks.com

"Vickie McDonough is a favorite local author (I have lots of favorite authors), and her humor shines through in spite of some serious subjects. I doubt that anyone will be surprised when the boy finally gets the girl. If you like historical novels, especially set in West Texas, or are already a fan of Vickie McDonough, you should enjoy this book." -- Review by Cathy Bickerstaff, Tulsa Beacon, 8/1/12

I really enjoy Vickie McDonough's writing style. Her stories flow effortlessly and always leave me satisfied. This one is no different. My only complaint is that I wish it was longer! Brooks rides into the town of Shoofly during a hail storm, and the story takes off from there. There is a little bit of everything in this book. I loved that the story was fast paced, yet I still felt connected to the characters.

Brooks Morgan started out as a spoiled, angry young man. I enjoyed watching him grow into a mature man of God. His attitude changed slowly throughout the book from a man who smiled all the time to cover to pain to a man who smiled because he was actually happy and enjoying life. Keri Langston was a woman after my own heart. She is strong-willed, independent, and lonely woman. Everyone she loved has left her, giving her the feeling of abandonment. Watching her change from a lonely woman, to a woman loved by her God was exciting!

Overall, this is a satisfying conclusion to the end of the series. As the back of the book states, "Doubt meets hope, and fear gives way to faith..." in this book, and throughout the series.

**I received this book free from Moody Publishers in exchange for my honest review, which I have given.**

"I received this book from Moody Publishers for the purpose of this honest review. All comments and opinions are my own."

"It didn't take long for Brooks Morgan to make a name for himself in Shoofly. A high stakes poker game ends with Brooks holding the deed to his new friend Will's ranch, a vague promise to "take care of Keri," and Will's mysterious demise.

When Brooks finally rides out to Raven Creek Ranch, he is greeted by a rifle pointed straight at his chest. This is the "Keri" he promised to take care ofâ€”Will's nieceâ€”who believes Raven Creek is promised to her. Keri and Brooks have only one thing in common: they both want to save the ranch. Will their differences make that impossible?

Okay, now that I have officially finished the Texas Trails series, End of the Trail is the best one in the series! Although I am sad that there aren't any more to read, this book finished the series with action, drama, romance, and lots of unexpected turn-of-events that forced me to finish the book in 2 hours!

Brooks was a very good character that I look forward to reading about again. The way he smiles in every circumstance, and always looks for a silver-lining was just charming. Keri was also fun to read about, her hating dresses when women only wore dresses, her riding astride when a side-saddle was necessary, and the way she handled her gun was definitely fun!

As I mentioned earlier that there was a lot of action, I want to say that this book had the most amount of action in the series, in my opinion. There were several hangings that were caused by the outlaw Saul Dengler (an attempt to hang Brooks), two head injuries (but not detailed) and also a gunfight. Just thought I would say that.

Anyways, I loved this book and will probably read the whole series again in the future. Thank y'all for reading my review!

End of the Trail is the sixth book in the Texas Trails series. Vickie McDonough weaves the tale of Brooks Morgan and Keri Langston. Brooks has been drifting in life for the past ten years, with no real ambition until he stumbles upon the small town of Shoofly, Texas. Brooks comes to the aid of an old man, and wins the deed to a ranch in a high-stakes poker game. Before the old man dies, he quips to Brooks to "take care of Keri." No problem, he grew up on a ranch and knows how to handle critters.

Except Keri isn't the animal he was anticipating, but a beautiful young woman instead. Brooks doesn't know the first thing about what to do with her, and isn't about to give up his opportunity of a home of his own. Will they be able to solve their differences or will one of them need to go packing? I'm sure you'll enjoy this delightful tale set in 1896.

This book was provided free for review by Moody Publishers and the author.

Brooks Morgan never saw the importance of learning how to run his family's ranch because he had no intention of taking it over when it was time. He also never understood the needs for doing so many chores when there were plenty of other brothers and sisters to do it. He'd rather spend his time fishing, hanging out with his friends or riding his Morgan, Jester. Yet when a confrontation with his father left him feeling less than wanted, he rode off and never looked back.

Yet when opportunity presented itself to Brooks through needs of an elderly but friendly old man, Will Langston who hired him to help him out while he was dying, Brooks knew he couldn't run from this. In time, he actually grew to appreciate and care for Will and when fate dealt him a winning hand in a poker game, he found himself the new owner of Raven Creek Ranch, a 4000 acre cattle ranch owned by Will, with the promise he would care for Keri. When Will returns from town he finds the cabin in a disarray and Will looks to have been murdered. Rather than spend his time searching for revenge, the Marshall tells Brooks to head out to the ranch and leave the investigation to him.

Keri Langston has spent two grueling years at Wesleyan Female College in Georgia and couldn't wait for her final days to be free. Even though she went under duress, she knew her Uncle and the boys on the ranch couldn't help her with knowing what a lady should know even though she didn't want it. They knew if she didn't attend finishing school, the likelihood of her finding a suitable husband would be hard to come by. Now she was looking forward to getting back to her Uncle's ranch and out of corsets and dresses and back into trousers and boots!

When Keri arrives in town, she finds it odd that no one arrives to pick her up from the train station but believes perhaps her Uncle or one of the ranch hands didn't receive her letter informing them of her arrival and decides to head home. Along the way, she comes across a man about to be hanged and she knows that no justice ever comes from vigilante hangings. She is advised by the men to head on out so they can dispense with their task but Keri doesn't like anyone telling her what to do. She warns the men to turn the man loose or risk her wrath with a loaded shotgun. She sends them enough knowledge about her shooting skills when she shots the noose off the man and they leave but with a warning, they are both going to pay for this! What Keri doesn't realize is the man she saved is Brooks Morgan, the new owner of the ranch she still believes is hers and this is where the story gets exciting! But you'll have to pick up the book because that is all in the first couple chapters and there is loads more excitement behind the covers of Vickie McDonough's latest novel, End of the Trail, the six and final book in the Texas Trail Series.

So if you love a great western romance with a little bit of intrigue and laughs tossed in for good measure, you'll want to pick this one up. But with it comes a warning. If you haven't read the other 5 books in the series, you'll want to pick those up as well but you can read this one as a stand alone and still LOVE it!

I received End of the Trail compliments of Moody Publishers and Net Galley for my honest review and have to say being a huge Christian Western Romance lover, this one spoke to my heart and soul. I love the strong female character of Keri Langston and seeing how she handles the men that she meets along the way, doesn't show a girl can't wear a dress and still know how to rope, ride and shot like the best of the men. I give this one a 5 out of 5 stars and just know you'll love it too!

Brooks Morgan has been heading West working on one ranch after another. As he rides into the little town of Shoofly it comes a downpour that turns into hail and sends him high tailing it up onto the boardwalk and into a cafe. As he entered a tired looking old guy invites to Brooks to sit at his table and offered to buy him a meal. The man introduces himself as John Langston and offers Brooks a job. Brooks was running out of cash so he excepted the job offer. It turned out that John is terminally ill and needs someone to stay with him until he succumbs to the disease. It was a strange request but he needed to earn some cash if he planned to eat and have traveling money to get him further West.

Brooks didn't realize the job came with a renewal of his faith in God. John's friends had planted seeds of faith that took root in his hardened heart.

One day while playing cards with John and some of his friends John and Brooks were the only ones left in the game. John laid down a deed to some property he owned outside of town and asked to see Brooks cards. Brook laid out his cards and John folded. It looked like Brook was the property owner of the Raven Creek Ranch.

After John passed away and all was taken care of Brooks decided it was about time he saw this so called ranch. He wasn't expecting much but it would be his to do with as he chose. As he headed out some angry rough looking men stopped and questioned him about his proof of ownership of the ranch.

Meanwhile back in Shoofly, Keri is just stepping off the train. Since her Uncle wasn't there to pick her up she went to the livery to rent a horse and headed on out to the ranch. As she rode out toward Raven Creek Ranch she noticed some men were in the process of trying to hang a man. Since she was a crack shot she aimed at the rope just above the man's head. No way could she let those scoundrels take the law into their own hands! As soon as the shot rang out and the rope fell the man's horse took off with him and Keri didn't waste anytime either. She was out of there fast. She was totally unaware that the man's hands were still tied and he had something over his face and no way of controlling his horse. Not good! Not good at all!

I could go on and on but that would spoil the book for you. I wouldn't want that to happen. So grab the book and find out what happens to Brooks. What will Keri find or not find when she get's to the ranch? It looks like both of their lives are in for a big change.

This book, just like the others in this series did not disappoint me. It was sad, intriguing and at times down right funny. I really like the story line of this young man running from responsibility for years only to end up in the same life he left. But now he is in a different town with his own ranch and letting God lead the way. I was really sorry for the book to end. I will miss the Morgan family.

Vickie McDonough wrote two of the books in this series. Each books in the Texas Trails series can be read as a standalone book or as a series.

I highly recommend this book along with the other books in the Texas Trails series.

Disclosure

I received a copy of this book from RiverNorth/Netgalley for review. I was in no way compensated for this review. This is my own opinion.